Danica keeps eye on Indy, but focuses on Charlotte

Friday

CONCORD, N.C. | Danica Patrick went through three long practice sessions Thursday at Charlotte Motor Speedway to get ready for today's History Channel 300 and Sunday's Coca-Cola 600.

The schedule meant running between the Nationwide and Sprint Cup series garage areas with very little time for rest.

It also helped her think about not being at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the first time in eight years as a driver in Sunday's 500-mile race.

Patrick made a clean break from the IndyCar Series this year to run the full Nationwide schedule and selected races in Sprint Cup. Not only will she skip the Indianapolis 500 this year, she will attempt to complete 900 miles of stock-car racing in a 32-hour period. And that's enough to keep her from missing her IndyCar friends.

"Whenever I'm busy, that is sort of what I am focused on," she said. "I didn't feel like I wanted to be there. I just had a lot of memories of what was going on. I'm very pleased that I'm in NASCAR. I'm very happy. I'm having a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to a different challenge this weekend."

Her car owner for Sunday, Tony Stewart, has driven in both the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 - twice on the same day - before making NASCAR his home. He can best understand what Patrick is thinking this week, but he also knows the challenge of racing 300 miles on Saturday and another 600 on Sunday should keep her grounded.

"No, it's not the end of the world," Stewart said. "It's putting one chapter behind you and starting another chapter. You would truly have to ask her. She is going to know a lot better than me. She's on the other side of the garage."

At the same time, he still has a passion for Indianapolis. Winning there, Stewart said, means more than at any other track. For that reason, he knows Patrick won't be able to ignorewhat's happening 581 miles away in Indiana.

"Just like we are used to coming here on Memorial Day weekend, running on Thursday, then Saturday and Sunday, you get used to the month of May being busy for you," Stewart said. "It's not something that you just totally walk away from and lose interest in it altogether. I'm sure she has been watching practice and qualifying like we have. She will pay attention to it on race day."

But she will need to be completely focused on completing 400 laps Sunday night.

"Yeah, it is a whole different weekend. It is a whole different car. It is a whole different everything," Patrick said. "I don't think that my experiences from Indy necessarily will help me this weekend as a direct result.

"In practice, I go from Nationwide to Cup car to Nationwide to qualifying the Cup car. On Saturday, I go from two practices straight into the race of the Nationwide. That is going to be my challenge. For me, it's just a matter of staying focused, staying positive and staying hydrated."

And finding more speed. Patrick qualified 40th for the 600.

Qualifying for the Nationwide race is at 11 a.m. today.

While just about anyone who's ever raced thinks about winning the Indianapolis 500, Patrick said she has no regrets for focusing solely on NASCAR.

"The reason why I came to race NASCAR was to do all of these things," she said. "I was ready to leave IndyCar. I wanted to be here. When you are not missing something, longing for something, you don't really think about it that much. It's like that girlfriend you didn't want to have anymore. You don't think about her anymore. Indy, I have lots of great memories from there and probably the part of me that doesn't feel quite as longing for it is that there is still a chance that I could do it again. It's not gone. I'm excited about this weekend."

For now, she has no plans to do the Indianapolis-Charlotte double.

Stewart isn't opposed to her trying it in the future.

"I'm not going to do it with her, but she is more than welcome to do it," Stewart said. "I put in my time."

As long as Patrick continues her schedule in the Nationwide and Sprint Cup series, she won't have any extra time, either.

Not even for Indianapolis.

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